Elmer Ellsworth taught military exercises at Lake Forest Academy from 1859 to early 1860.He left Lake Forest Academy to serve in the Union Army during the Civil War.On May 24, 1861, Ellsworth spotted a Confederate flag hanging from a hotel window of Marshall House in Alexandria, VA.He pulled down the flag and was shot dead by the hotel owner.Ellsworth was the first officer killed in the Civil War.In 1934, Louis Laflin, Jr., then an Lake Forest Academy student, wrote a stage play called "Ellsworth of the Zouaves" that was produced at the Academy.Laflin donated his collection of Ellsworth memorabilia, including some items from the stageplay, and correspondence related to the collection.